SCHOOL COMMITTEE FUNDS.

Taranaki Daily News, 13 September 1918, Page 7

SCHOOL COMMITTEE FUNDS.

' ■: POSITION, AT STRATFORD. : At .Wednesday's meeting of the Education Board the chairman of the Stratford School Committee waited on the board with a view to receiving some assistance, as the committee's finances had become somewhat embarrassed. Mr. Boon pointed out that when the present committee came into office they found they were called upon to pay £25 promised to the board over two years ago, toy a previous committee, towards certain alterations and additions to the school building. The present committee was unaware of the liability and the knowledge of it came as something of a shock. He referred to the expenses of the committee, and stated that owing to the severe winter the cost of fuel to the committee had amounted to £sl. The past year had also been a bad one for the committee inasmuch as the curtailing of railway facilities Uiad prevented them from having the customary annual picnic at New 'Plymouth, from which a profit of several pounds was usually made. A local picnic had been held, but a loss of £l3 had been incurred. The position was that the capitation was insufficient to meet expenses. The amount received from tiat source was £134 19s. The payment to the caretaker was '£'l26 (not. including the baths caretaker), and the committee had had to spend about £lO on appliances for cleaning. In addition an amount of work had been done in keeping the grounds in order. Two! years ago some £24 had been spent on j asphalting and last year £2O had been j expended upon the grounds. About £l7 had heen spent in cleaning the ground of the old residence which had been shifted some years ago, as it was considered there were some dangerous pieces of concrete and similar obstructions on the ground. During the past year about £8 had been raised by means of concerts and contributions. The only subsidy or grant received by the committee was on the voluntary contributions made by the residents. The present position was that already this year the committee had to meet expenses amounting to £9O, and there was a deficit of £49, and the committee had nothing with which to pay. He asked that the board should consider viewing the amount of £25 due under promise of a previous committee. He recognised that the promise should he honored, but under the special cirettnistances he asked that some relief should be afforded the Stratford committee.

Mr Wilkinson pointed out that the. board could scarcely refund money givta by a committee for a specific purpose. If repairs to the buildings had been done for which the board might reasonably have been expected to pay, those repairs should not have been undertaken without the authority of t! : c hoard. The chairman pointed out that the committee was one of those committees which did a, lot for themselves without asking anything from the board, and he believed that but for the exceptional circumstances of the loss on the picnic whichl usually yielded them a profit nothing would have been heard of the position. After some discussion, in which all the members , expressed agreement with the principle' of assisting committees who wero. disposed to help themselves, it was ultimately agreed to grant the Stratford committee a sum of £l2 10s in consideration of work done.